Head-To-Head: Ireland v Italy

A statistical preview of Saturday’s rearranged Guinness Six Nations match between Ireland and Italy at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 3.30pm).

2020 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, October 24

IRELAND (4th) v ITALY (6th), Aviva Stadium, 3.30pm (live Virgin Media One/UTV/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra/FR2/DMAX/NBC/IRFU Live Blog)

IRELAND: Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (UCD/Leinster), Will Connors (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht), Ed Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), Ultan Dillane (Galway Corinthians/Connacht), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster).

ITALY: Jayden Hayward (Benetton Rugby); Edoardo Padovani (Benetton Rugby), Luca Morisi (Benetton Rugby), Carlo Canna (Zebre), Mattia Bellini (Zebre); Paolo Garbisi (Benetton Rugby), Marcello Violi (Zebre); Danilo Fischetti (Zebre), Luca Bigi (Zebre) (capt), Giosuè Zilocchi (Zebre), Marco Lazzaroni (Benetton Rugby), Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby), Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby), Braam Steyn (Benetton Rugby), Jake Polledri (Gloucester).

Replacements: Gianmarco Lucchesi (Benetton Rugby), Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby), Pietro Ceccarelli (Brive), David Sisi (Zebre), Johan Meyer (Zebre), Maxime Mbanda (Zebre), Callum Braley (Benetton Rugby), Federico Mori (Kawasaki Robot Calvisano).

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce, Christophe Ridley (both England)
Television Match Official: Tom Foley (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 31
Ireland Won – 27
Italy Won – 4

Ireland v Italy – Results Since 2000:

2000: Ireland won 60-13, Dublin
2001: Ireland won 41-22, Rome
2002: Ireland won 32-17, Dublin
2003: Ireland won 37-13, Rome; Ireland won 61-6, Limerick
2004: Ireland won 19-3, Dublin
2005: Ireland won 28-17, Rome
2006: Ireland won 26-16, Dublin
2007: Ireland won 51-24, Rome; Ireland won 23-20, Belfast
2008: Ireland won 16-11, Dublin
2009: Ireland won 38-9, Rome
2010: Ireland won 29-11, Dublin
2011: Ireland won 13-11, Rome; Ireland won 36-6, Dunedin
2012: Ireland won 42-10, Dublin
2013: Italy won 22-15, Rome
2014: Ireland won 46-7, Dublin
2015: Ireland won 26-3, Rome; Ireland won 16-9, London
2016: Ireland won 58-15, Dublin
2017: Ireland won 63-10, Rome
2018: Ireland won 56-19, Dublin; Ireland won 54-7, Chicago
2019: Ireland won 26-16, Rome; Ireland won 29-10, Dublin

Biggest Wins:

Ireland: Points: 63-10, 2017 Six Nations; Margin: 61-6, 2003 Rugby World Cup Warm-Up

Italy: Points: 37-29, 1997 Test, Dublin; 37-22, 1997 Test, Bologna; Margin: 37-22, 1997 Test, Bologna

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Points In A Match: Ireland 30 (Ronan O’Gara 2000); Italy 27 (Diego Dominguez 1997)

Most Tries In A Match: Ireland 4 (Denis Hickie 2003); Italy 2 (Paolo Vaccari 1997)

Most Appearances – Ireland v Italy:

16 – Sergio Parisse
15 – Brian O’Driscoll, Alessandro Zanni
14 – Rory Best, Ronan O’Gara
13 – Martin Castrogiovanni
12 – Mauro Bergamasco, Gordon D’Arcy, Leonardo Ghiraldini, John Hayes, Andrea Masi, Paul O’Connell, Salvatore Perugini, Alessandro Troncon
11 – Mirco Bergamasco, Marco Bortolami, Gonzalo Canale, Sean Cronin, Rob Kearney, Luke McLean, Donncha O’Callaghan, Malcolm O’Kelly, Peter Stringer

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Italy:

180 – Ronan O’Gara
96 – Diego Dominguez
76 – Jonathan Sexton
67 – David Humphreys
40 – Keith Earls, Denis Hickie
37 – Paddy Jackson
36 – Paul Burke
30 – Girvan Dempsey, Brian O’Driscoll

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Italy:

8 – Keith Earls, Denis Hickie
6 – Girvan Dempsey, Brian O’Driscoll
5 – Shane Horgan
4 – Tommy Bowe, John Kelly, CJ Stander, Andrew Trimble
3 – Sean Cronin, Craig Gilroy, Jamie Heaslip, Rob Henderson, Jordan Larmour, Conor Murray, Ronan O’Gara, Jacob Stockdale, Paolo Vaccari

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 19-10 v Wales home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Won 27-3 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 19-12 v Japan away (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 35-0 v Russia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 47-5 v Samoa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 46-14 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)
Won 18-14 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-14 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 24-12 v England away (Six Nations)

Italy – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Lost 33-20 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Lost 26-15 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 26-16 v Ireland home (Six Nations)
Lost 57-14 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 25-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 29-10 v Ireland away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 85-15 v Russia home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 47-19 v France away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 37-0 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 47-22 v Namibia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Won 48-7 v Canada neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Lost 49-3 v South Africa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Lost 42-0 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Lost 35-22 v France away (Six Nations)
Lost 17-0 v Scotland home (Six Nations)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
441 Owen Farrell (England)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
403 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
400 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
290 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)
232 Paul Grayson (England)

Tries –
26 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
24 Ian Smith (Scotland)
22 Shane Williams (Wales)
20 George North (Wales)
18 Gareth Edwards (Wales)
18 Cyril Lowe (England)
18 Rory Underwood (England)

Caps –
69 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
64 Rory Best (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
57 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
54 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
53 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
51 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
124 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Cian Healy
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
95 Rob Kearney
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
91 Jonathan Sexton
84 Keith Earls
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
81 Conor Murray
72 Sean Cronin
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Devin Toner
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
814 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O’Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Conor Murray
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
13 Jonathan Sexton
12 Rory Best
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan

Italy – Most-Capped Players:

142 Sergio Parisse
119 Martin Castrogiovanni
119 Alessandro Zanni
112 Marco Bortolami
106 Mauro Bergamasco
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini
103 Andrea Lo Cicero
101 Alessandro Troncon
95 Andrea Masi
89 Mirco Bergamasco
89 Luke McLean
86 Gonzalo Canale
83 Carlo Checchinato
83 Salvatore Perugini
81 Fabio Ongaro

Italy – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

983 Diego Dominguez
483 Stefano Bettarello
294 Luigi Troiani
269 Tommaso Allan
260 Ramiro Pez
256 Mirco Bergamasco
154 Luciano Orquera

Italy – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

25 Marcello Cuttitta
22 Paolo Vaccari
21 Carlo Checchinato
21 Manrico Marchetto
19 Alessandro Troncon
17 Mirco Bergamasco
17 Serafino Ghizzoni
17 Massimo Mascioletti

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
992 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
945 Owen Farrell (914-England, 31-Lions)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
819 Jonathan Sexton (814-Ireland, 5-Lions)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
42 George North (40-Wales, 2-Lions)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
147 Alun Wyn Jones (138-Wales, 9-Lions)
142 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
127 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
124 Rory Best (Ireland)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
124 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
122 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
119 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Will Genia (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Victor Gresev (Russia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
102 Rob Simmons (Australia)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Michael Hooper (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
101 Ben Youngs (99-England, 2-Lions)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Andrei Garbuzov (Russia)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)